8/05/2013 12:45:00 am -
Reported by
Chuck Foster

The news of Peter Capaldi becoming the Twelfth Doctor made the front pages of several Monday editions of British Newspapers, including the Times, Guardian, i, Telegraph, Express, Mirror, Sun and Daily Mail (with the latter two focussing on the betting patterns over the last week).

His primary quality as an actor is danger; during his most vicious riffs as the sewer-mouthed Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, there frequently seemed a threat that his pulsing facial veins might burst. He was also memorably menacing as the new boss in the second series of the TV newsroom drama The Hour. In that sense, Capaldi might have seemed more natural casting for the Time Lord's nemesis, the Master. So the main interest in his portrayal of the Doctor will be whether show-runner Steven Moffat – who has previously cast the actor in supporting roles in both Doctor Who and the spin-off Torchwood – encourages him to maintain his signature screen-bursting energy or explore a gentler part of his range.

As Capaldi is not only in demand as an actor but also writes and directs, he is giving up a significant amount to fulfil the show's brutal shooting schedules in Cardiff. His casting confirms that, like James Bond, the Doctor has become a role serious actors are happy to take on.

Capaldi is also immensely appealing as an individual, a crucial thing in this media saturated age: he is personable and outgoing to interview, as well as blessed with a wry sense of humour. ... It’s a match made in heaven - or Gallifrey.

... He was announced, and boy did my two hearts leap. A moment of pure, unadulterated excitement – it felt like I was ten again. A new Doctor! Who looks awesome! I even got close to forgetting about the upcoming 50th anniversary celebrations (heck, I thought I had it good when they cast John bloomin' Hurt) because I literally can't wait to see what Capaldi's going to do with the role. ... Capaldi's a brilliant choice. Inspired, exciting and totally different. I can't wait to see what his take on the Time Lord is going to be like – hell, I'm even excited to find out what his costume's going to be, which is more than a man my age should really admit. This really is the year for Doctor Who – and with Peter Capaldi on board, the Time Lord's future is looking pretty rosy too.

While we can safely assume Peter Capaldi will leave Malcolm Tucker's abrasion and hurled expletives in Westminster, he brings much more career baggage to the role than anyone else since the 2005 reboot. Despite the press's attempts to paint Capaldi's Tucker as a raging football hooligan, the new Doctor's performance over four series of The Thick of It and a feature film in In The Loop wove among the general horridness a pathos and occasional self-doubt which would put to shame any of his predecessors as the last Time Lord. ... Given that Matt Smith's Doctor was (let's admit it) a cariacature of David Tennant's, it's good to see a change in trajectory. That growl and unwavering stare which have served Capaldi so well will surely be menacing Daleks and Sontarans before too long. While hardly a prettyboy, he's got presence and charisma to fill even the Tardis, though he'll have to surprise a few viewers if he's to imbue the role with The Doctor's robust moralism.

Aneurin Barnard (in the booking odds): "Huge great congratulations to master Peter Capaldi he's going to be a wonderful #DoctorWho"

Peter Capaldi - the one and only:

Steven Moffat has revealed that Peter Capaldi was always his choice in mind for the Twelfth Doctor.

Speaking to Sky News after last night's show, the executive producer said:

When you realise one of the finest, most loved actors in the country is a huge Doctor Who fan, and a genius actor, and you think that maybe we could just give it a punt, ask him, I mean it's not a set thing, would he like to be the Doctor, so we contacted him and said would you be interested in it and he was very interested.

Asked if he’d had a short list, Moffat said: "Yes. The list went 'Peter Capaldi'. It was a very short list. [He came on the radar] a fair amount of time ago. I happened to know he's a big fan. There's something very seductive about an utterly brilliant, arresting looking leading man actor – one of the most talented actors in Britain – who you happen to know is a big fan of the show. You start to think 'maybe we should so something about that'."

During Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor Moffat had commented on the then unknown actor's eligibility when casting for the Twelfth Doctor:

The traditional audition process is to see lots and lots of people, and that's what we did last time, but oddly enough most occasions on Doctor Who it hasn't happened that way. It didn't happen that way this time - we all had an idea, we all had the same idea and it was a quite different idea, so we got our notional number Twelve round to my house and we made a home video of that person being the Doctor, and showed it around to the people who need to be in on the decision (it's like appointing the president or something) and everyone just said "yes, that's the Doctor".

With all parts like the Doctor, or James Bond or Sherlock Holmes, there comes a right time for the right person to play it. I mean oddly enough, this person briefly flicked through my mind the last time and I didn't think they were right. This time, just wow, and that moment has arrived.